Catalysts can be used to change the rates and control the yields of chemical reactions to increase the amounts of desirable products from these reactions and reduce the amounts of undesirable ones. For example, fluorite-structured cerium oxide (CeO2-x, 0≦x<0.5, also referred to as ceria) can be used in catalytic converters for reducing carbon monoxide emissions in exhaust gases from motor vehicles. Cerium oxide is also an important industrial catalyst used in petroleum refining, fuel cells, water gas shift reaction, and organic chemical synthesis. A variety of cerium oxide nanostructures, including nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanodendrites, and nanorods can be synthesized. Cerium oxide nanorods have high effective surface-to-volume ratios because they have a low tendency of forming high density aggregates (as compared to nanoparticles) and their propensity to expose high energy crystalline facets for improved catalytic performance.